quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

quote:

Originally posted by 21bubba:
God I hope I'm wrong but I see a 20 year old money pit.

You never know I guess. I've owned a number of old German cars that cost less to own/operate/maintain than the depreciation I take on my newer Subaru each year. The key is to find the right example of the right model. Fingers crossed that I did. Early indications are that I may have with the W210.

I really do think you will be fine.

Again, these cars are very basic and simple to work on. Far different from the newer W211 and W212 cars. That's not to say you won't have issue. Anything can happen.

Over the past six years I've done the following. Most of it has mostly been all preventative maintenance and there is a ton of DIY videos on YouTube. I enjoy working on my cars and everything has been straight forward.

- Had instrument cluster lights replaced (typical LED panels burn out for the time and gear selection). Wasn't necessary but it annoyed me.
- Replaced AC Compressor, lines and dryer. Independent shop charged $550 for everything. That was cheaper than my old Lexus LS400.
- Multiple oil changes (8.5 qts in the E55)
- Multiple transmissions fluid drain and fills. It's so easy I do it every other oil change. You will need a $20 dipstick for the 722.6 transmission to do it correctly. It has a dipstick/fill hole, but no dipstick from the factory.
- General replacement of items like light bulbs.
- Replaced rubber seals in the engine oil cooler. They get old and leak. Again DIY and less than $20 worth of parts. Your E430 doesn't have this cooler.
- Replaced MAF as precaution
- Replaced Crank Position Sensor as precaution
- Replaced gas peddle position sensor (driver side top of engine). This actually was one instance where I couldn't drive the car. Well I drove the car home, but it was an interesting drive. $85 DIY replacement. Was the original part. Went at about 128k miles.
- Replaced drive belt as precaution
- Replaced drive belt tensioner as precaution
- Replaced cabin air filters and secondary charcoal filters.
- Replaced passenger side rear window regulator. The metal pulley broke. Fairly common on W210 cars especially in the rear. Took about 1.5 hours of work and I think was around $30.
- Driver side front spring broke. Lowered car about 2". Didn't fail completely. I did DIY replacement of front springs, shocks and sway bar end links. All DIY in my garage one Saturday.
- Replaced front and rear brake calipers, pads and sensors. This is one very expensive area of the W210 E55 AMG cars. There are very few companies that make the front rotors for the car. I ended up buying OEM AMG replacements @ $250 each! Yikes. But the originals went 105k miles.

Given that the price of these cars are generally so low on the used market. If you find a well taken care of example you will be just fine. Enjoy the car and visit the Mercedes Forum for great tips.

Zora

I nearly bought one some years back, but shied away since the car already had some electrical problems (RR window failed to close on an extended test drive and it was raining on the way back to the dealership!)

It would have been a great car if I had found a better one. Black, same as yours, outstanding to drive, and the one I looked at was the 6-cylinder, not your V-8.

One issue I remember was a rust problem at the back of the trunk lid, something that started at the factory. Every E-Class of that body style had it, as far as I know, and had to have the trunk repainted , usually by the dealer at no charge. At 20 years old, I'd recommend that you check if this was done, since I doubt a dealer would be interested in doing it for free, now.

By the way, I remember nearly all the problems Zoraone mentioned, including the front spring breaking. It didn't cripple the car, but needed to be replaced immediately.

A great car! I'm jealous!

Sweet ride! Drive the heck out of it, and if stuff starts to go wrong don't hesitate to dump it. That's the great part of getting a deal on an older car. Someone else took the depreciation hit already.

Zora could you shoot me an email? I looked for yours and it wasn't in your profile. Mine is. I don't like to post publicly as the whole world can see it, but click my username and you'll see it in my profile since you're a member.

I have some questions about the transmission fluid change procedure as well as the springs.

Thanks!

Sent you an email. Happy to help.

quote:

Originally posted by 21bubba:
God I hope I'm wrong but I see a 20 year old money pit.

That was the case with my 1987 300D after owning several W123 series trouble free MB Diesel powered cars.

That W124 300D ate: Three turbos with trap oxidizer.
Complete exhaust system, replaced twice.
Cracked cylinder head.
Replace front suspension.
A/C compressor. (Denso)
Climate control panel.
WW motor.
Three window lifts.

When rust began to show up, I bailed for an Audi.

That was my second big mistake.

One of the websites I used to frequent is now called Peach parts.com
One of the main issues I recall with this body style as the mounting points for a believe the shock Towers was rusting out and could be very dangerous but if it hasn't been driven in snow or winter that might be a good thing..